The Xcerts - In The Cold Wind We Smile

We’ve all been there: in depths of angst, we see no way to express emotion other than through the outward pouring of aggression. The Xcerts have made the executive decision to do this through the medium of the trusty guitar and the soaring voicebox. Tracks like Cool Ethan pack vast dynamic variety over typical Scottish self-deprecation: “I am ill, I am lost, I am doomed/it's hard to hear 'cause I know it's the truth”. Throughout, guttural fretwork is painted beautifully against cautious xylophone. This sees the Aberdeen trio sitting somewhere between the two extremes of talent in their local contemporaries - the clichéd faux-American whine of The Dykeenies, and the stunning Celtic outbursts of We Were Promised Jetpacks. Currently, they cling tentatively to original and enticing Scottish roots like insects in a hurricane that threatens to blow them towards American emo. Let’s just hope they don’t go the way of the Highland Clearances.